3 Methods to Trip in Sri Lanka — From a Household Seaside Journey to a Wildlife-focused Journey

Historical cave temples, elusive leopards, palm-fringed seashores, and my favourite delicacies on the planet — Sri Lanka packs lots into a comparatively small space. Whether or not you’re touring with a giant group, keen on wildlife, or hoping to get a deep dive into its historical past, listed below are three alternative ways to discover Sri Lanka. 

Touring With the Household

Once I’m planning a Sri Lanka journey for a household, I like to supply a style of all of the highlights, together with wildlife, tradition, and time spent on the seaside. 

The island nation’s most dependable and charismatic wildlife is its elephant inhabitants. By joyful coincidence, summer time trip within the U.S. coincides with Sri Lanka’s elephant gathering, when huge herds congregate to drink on the historical human-made water tanks in Minneriya Nationwide Park, close to the middle of the island. 

To be taught concerning the island’s tradition and historical past, take into account visiting the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic. Situated in Kandy, the place of worship is the place Gautama Buddha’s left canine tooth is enshrined. Guests can get a glance contained in the ceremonies that happen right here, too, offering a real introduction to Buddhist custom. 

Lastly, households can finish their journeys with a number of days of stress-free by the water on the island’s east coast. Right here, you’ll discover huge, sandy seashores with shallow, calm waters protected by coral reefs the place little ones can safely splash about or snorkel.

When to Go: July and August 

Searching for Wildlife

With 26 nationwide parks dwelling to a myriad of animals — together with elephants, sloth bears, deer, monkeys, leopards, and 34 endemic fowl species — Sri Lanka is a superb choice for a wildlife-focused journey. 

At every park, a specialised ranger information will take you round. For instance, for those who’re an avid bird-watcher, you may be matched with a driver and information who focuses on fowl statement. 

Any Sri Lankan wildlife journey requires a go to to Yala Nationwide Park — standard as a result of it’s dwelling to the densest focus of leopards on the planet. Keep at Leopard Trails, an expensive tented camp identified for its distinctive guides. Leopards are notoriously elusive, however that is the only finest place to try to see one, in addition to sloth bears, water buffalo, mugger crocodiles, and grey langurs. 

Gal Oya, a distant nationwide park within the southeast, is one other must-visit. It’s a little bit of an effort to succeed in, but it surely’s one of many solely locations left on the planet to see elephants swimming of their pure habitat, so it’s properly well worth the journey. 

When to Go: February and March

Diving Into Historical past and Tradition

To correctly discover Sri Lanka’s remarkably wealthy historical past and tradition, begin with a guided tour by way of the cave temples of Dambulla, which presents a glimpse into 1,900 years of Buddhist thought. You’ll see 150-plus statues and brightly painted depictions of the Buddha, showcasing totally different artwork types courting again to the primary century. 

Polonnaruwa, a city in central Sri Lanka, has temple caves and an enormous reclining Buddha, in addition to ruins of a Twelfth-century capital metropolis that after stood on the land. Take a guided bike tour; you’ll pedal alongside a mild route that allows you to take within the huge complicated of ruined temples, bathhouses, monasteries, and the stays of an intensive irrigation system. 

The literal excessive level of any go to to Sri Lanka is the possibility to climb Sigiriya, a towering rock that rises abruptly over the forested plains close to Dambulla, topped with the ruins of a fortress palace from the short-lived Kashyapa Kingdom. 

When to Go: January to April

Niall Causer is a member of Journey + Leisure’s A-Record and focuses on Bhutan and Sri Lanka journeys. You possibly can create a tailored itinerary with Causer by contacting him at niall.causer@audleytravel.com.